The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said Wednesday that it will distribute about 180,000 sets of COVID-19 rapid antigen test (RAT) kits to people in some areas of the city as part of a follow-up on recent detection of the COVID-19 virus in sewage samples.

The test kits will be distributed to residents, cleaning workers, and property management staff working in the areas with positive sewage testing results showing relatively high viral loads, in order to help identify infected persons, it said.

The HKSAR government also urged RAT kit users to report any positive results for COVID-19 via the government's online platform.

In an effort to combat COVID-19, the HKSAR government's Environmental Protection Department and the Drainage Services Department have strengthened the sampling of sewage in all districts of Hong Kong for COVID-19 virus testing.

On Wednesday, Hong Kong registered 104 new COVID-19 cases by nucleic acid tests, and 147 additional cases through self-reported rapid antigen tests, official data showed.